Cannes 2019: Jérémy Clapin’s Feature ‘I Lost My Body’ To Debut In Critics’ Week Sidebar

Jérémy Clapin’s highly-anticipated feature I Lost My Body (J’ai perdu mon corps) will have its world premiere as part of the 58th International Critics’ Week sidebar at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. The announcement adds another animated feature to this year’s lineup after The Swallows of Kabul was selected for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard competition.

The prestigious Critics’ Week sidebar, organized by the French Syndicate of Film Critics, chooses just seven feature films annually, and focuses on first and second films by promising directors. This year, 1,050 feature films were submitted.

Clapin’s provocative film follows a sentient, severed hand that goes on a dangerous journey through the city to return to the body it belongs to. I Lost My Body is written by Clapin and Guillaume Laurant (screenwriter of Amélie), with Marc du Pontavice, Xilam’s founder and CEO, serving as producer. The screenplay is an adaptation of Laurant’s novel Happy Hand.

“The autonomy of a body limb is a very powerful idea,” Clapin told Cartoon Brew last month. “It is absurd, but has to seem very real. The challenge was big: How do you create empathy towards a thing that doesn’t have a face?”

The French effort marks the feature directorial debut of Clapin, 45, whose short films Palmipédarium (2012) and Skhizein (2008) have been much lauded on the festival circuit. The latter was nominated for a César and won the Kodak Discovery Award for Best Short Film at International Critics’ Week in Cannes.

Earlier, Cartoon Brew premiered an exclusive teaser and clip for I Lost My Body. Take a look below: